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As well as the players and the coaches, the Final of the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 will be a big moment for 40-year-old Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers and his refereeing team. Kuipers has been on the FIFA list since 2006 and has since officiated at UEFA EURO 2012 and the recent UEFA Europa League Final between Benfica and Chelsea. He spoke exclusively to FIFA.com about his thoughts on Sunday’s final between Brazil and Spain at the Maracana.

- How are you enjoying the tournament so far?- Very much. You know, when I received the appointment to go to the FIFA Confederations Cup, it was a great moment. Since I’ve been here, it’s been fantastic. There have been some great matches.- What about Brazil. What do you think of the country?- This country is amazing; it’s very big and very interesting. But we haven’t seen a lot of Brazil because we don’t have time to be tourists. Most of the time we’re training and in the afternoon we’re doing match analysis.- You’ve been named as the referee for the Final. How does that make you feel?- I’m very happy and proud to be named as the referee for the Final, not only for myself, but for my assistants and the Fourth Official. I’m also happy for the people who have worked with me for the last couple of years to achieve this moment. To reach this level, it takes hard work and we’ve done it.- What kind of a game do you expect?- A great, great match! The whole world is waiting for this match, it is Brazil versus Spain, two of the world’s biggest footballing countries. I’m expecting a wonderful game, where fair play and respect for each other is there.- What do you think of the Maracana?- It’s huge, it’s fantastic, it’s modern, it breathes football. So, what more do you want when Spain and Brazil are there and you can be a part of it? It’s a dream. The stadium will be full and there will be a fantastic atmosphere.- What type of preparations do you have before such a big match?- Of course, this is a big match. Both finalists are great football countries. For every match we prepare. We prepare match analysis, we look at the key players, we look about the style of playing. We look about who makes long passes, who takes corner kicks. So we analyse every single player and we analyse the matches, so we are prepared very well.- The focus is on you, Bjorn, but you're very much a team. How essential is that? - Teamwork is for me the most important part of refereeing because, of course I’m responsible and I’m the referee but I can’t do anything without my assistants. We can have 90 minutes of refereeing without any mistakes, and then nobody talks about the referee. But in order to achieve this we have to be prepared. Fortunately, my team has been working together for a long time, so we know each other very well – and that’s very important.- Goal line technology is quite new. What kind of impact has it had on your work?- Until now we haven’t had to use it. But we’ve had a very good explanation of the technology. We have a watch and when the ball crosses the line, it vibrates and beeps. This helps the referee in critical situations. It can only help us.- Your father was a referee as well. Is this job in your blood? - Yes, I think this job is in my blood. You have to be a personality, you have to manage a game, you have to manage the players and to do this you need to have a background in football; I was a football player – and you need management skills.- Before this kind of match a player dreams to score a goal, or to do an assist. What’s yours?- Well, that’s very simple. My dream is that after the final, nobody’s talking about the referee!

Referee Milorad Mazic (SRB, 40, photo) has been promoted by UEFA to the Elite Category. Matej Jug (SVN, 33) and Sergei Karasev (RUS, 34) have been promoted to the Elite Development, while Peter Rasmussen (DEN, 38) retired at the end of the last season. Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE, 34) has been promoted to the First Category, while Mark Courtney (NIR, 41) has been demoted to the Second Category. John Beaton (SCO, 31) and Stephan Klossner (SUI, 32) have been promoted to the Second Category, while Euan Norris (SCO, 36) has been relegated to the Third Category.

The referee who awarded Italy a goal after first whistling for a penalty in the Confederations Cup match against Brazil has admitted he made a mistake, FIFA said on Sunday. Referee Ravshan Irmatov of Uzbekistan blew his whistle to award Italy a penalty kick. A second later, as play continued, Giorgio Chiellini scored. Irmatov was seen pointing at the penalty mark, but then giving a goal. "He has admitted he made a mistake", said FIFA spokesman Pekka Odriozola.

Ravshan Irmatov, a widely respected referee, had been expected to have a chance to referee the Confederations Cup final next Sunday, but is now expected to be sent home along with his assistants, who also made two key errors in Saturday's game. Chiellini's goal brought the score to 3-2 to Brazil, but Brazil won the match 4-2. Odriozola said Irmatov had not made any excuses about his mistake, but had explained it by saying "while I was whistling for a penalty, out of the corner of my eye I saw the goal and I thought advantage should be played and awarded the goal".

In prestigious tournaments, refereeing teams rarely get the chance to make more than one major mistake. At the 2006 World Cup in Germany, English referee Graham Poll was sent home after showing three yellow cards to a Croatian defender, while compatriot Howard Webb was sent home when one of his assistants made an error at the Euro 2008. Webb recovered to referee the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa.Irmatov, having blown for a penalty, stopped play and should only have restarted it with a penalty kick. Allowing play to continue, even for half a second or so, was a "technical error,'' Odriozola said. If the referee had waited for a moment, the delay would have allowed him to let play develop and give the goal by playing an advantage. Instead, he blew for the penalty, but then gave the goal, enraging Brazil's players. The mistake was compounded by each assistant, Abduxamidullo Rasulov from Uzbekistan and Bakhadyr Kochkarov of Kyrgyzstan, failing to signal offside for two Brazilian goals. Both mistakes were close, but should have been spotted. For some match officials, the mistakes raise the question of whether referees and assistants who officiate in less competitive leagues - like those in countries like Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan - should be appointed to such high-octane matches.

UEFA Women's Euro 2013 is just around the corner and the tournament referees and assistants have been this week at UEFA to receive last-minute instructions and recommendations, and fine-tune their preparations for the finals in Sweden between 10 and 28 July. UEFA's chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina and UEFA Referees Committee members Bo Karlsson and Dagmar Damkova – the latter a former leading referee herself – were present in Nyon to give the match officials advice and recommendations, as well as experienced encouragement to stand them in good stead at the final round. "This is the last time the referees will meet before the EURO," Damkova told UEFA.com, "and this is the right time to give instructions, review topics we have already addressed and remind the referees about issues such as consistency. The workshop has also helped to motivate and refresh them for the job ahead. We are showing them that we are here for them." This week's workshop looked at many of the elements that the referees and assistants will need to be alert to and follow, to ensure high-quality performances in Sweden. These include changes to the Laws of the Game regarding offside, handball-related decisions, control and awareness of what is happening on the field, and the crucial teamwork and communication between referees and their assistants. "The biggest issue nowadays is offside. This will be the first event after the changes have come into force – it will be the first test for the girls," Damkova explained. "Handball is also a crucial topic and has been for a long while, as there can be different opinions about each situation. We are showing them the things they need to take into consideration and which must influence their final decisions." In addition, the delegates undertook fitness training at the Colovray Stadium opposite UEFA's headquarters, supervised by the UEFA referee fitness and training team led by Belgian expert Werner Helsen. The referees and assistants were also weighed during the workshop – another indicator of just how seriously UEFA is preparing its women match officials for life at the elite level. "Demands are getting higher and higher," said Damkova, "because nowadays the referees are not just match officials, but athletes as well. Nowadays they almost need the same care as football players." The female referees have welcomed UEFA's attention and approach as a vital step forward. "The UEFA Referees Committee wants to show that we care about women's referees," Damkova emphasised, "and we must not divide men's and women's refereeing, because areas such as offside and handball are the same for both. So the instructions are the same. Both the men's and women's referees appreciated the UEFA course in Rome because they were able to share ideas and experiences." Damkova gave words of encouragement to the referees and assistants as they now look towards July. "They will be working as a team on and off the pitch, in the hotel and at training sessions," she said. "They must trust in their knowledge and ability, and believe they can do it. They are at the top level, they must be self-confident – but they must not forget to enjoy the experience as well". (Source: UEFA)

Matej Jug recently became a father again and on Tuesday the Slovenian will referee the Under-21 final in Israel – no surprise that he "will remember June 2013 forever". It is a time of major responsibility for Slovenian referee Matej Jug.

The 32-year-old has been tasked with handling Tuesday's UEFA European U-21 Championship final between Italy and Spain in Jerusalem, soon after celebrating the birth of his second son Miha. Jug told UEFA.com that the support of his family, and of countryman and UEFA Euro 2012 colleague Damir Skomina, is a "big motivation" for him.- Congratulations on your appointment – how did you feel on hearing the news? - Of course, it's great news, I'm delighted. It's a great honour for a referee to be at the final and of course, on the other side, a very big responsibility. Also, it is very important that the family supports you on your way [to these achievements] and my family does that a lot. In the last few days we have had a second child so that is one more special event for me: I will remember June 2013 forever. These things give you the motivation to be even better.- How have you and your team enjoyed this tournament, and what challenges has it presented to you? - Nowadays it's very important to have a very good team [of officials] because there must be cooperation between us, both on and off the pitch. So we try to find out positive and negative points, watch the clips of match situations, and analyse the teams in order to do our best on the field. Now it's important to prepare well for the final – football nowadays is at a very high level so we look at the teams in a tactical and technical way in order to try and be at our best.- How important have your experiences been in UEFA matches and as part of Damir Skomina's team at UEFA Euro 2012? - Of course, I have done some matches in the UEFA Europa League but I think this tournament is the biggest one after EURO. It's a very important step in my career and it will help me reach the next level – I'm very proud of being at this tournament. I can say that I learned a lot from Damir, he's one of the best referees at the moment. He gives me a lot of advice and also at Euro, it was a big tournament and an excellent experience for me. Damir has congratulated me [since the appointment] and was very happy there is a Slovenian referee who will officiate in the final.- You have previously refereed a domestic cup final. How do you prepare for a big game? - For me, every match is the same, whether it is played at a high or a low level. I go through the same routine so it is important to have your own style and your own preparation for a match.